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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.